SEA DAYS FOR RELAXATION~

Sunday and Monday, January 15, 16, 2017                          mid 70s, breezy

At Sea, aboard the ms Oosterdam

Sea days are made for exploring the ships, relaxing, reading, eating, and napping! It was a sleepy sunny day.

On Sunday, TK and I did make the Cruise Critic meet and greet despite never posting on the board. Fellow cruisers were friendly. I talked about World War I with a woman from Delaware who recommended an author, Charles Todd, who writes historical fiction based on World War I. Every once in a while I need a break from nonfiction books on WWI.  This was a good tip.

This same lady talked to me about river cruises in Europe and mentioned one of the first dishes she had on the ship was cream of mustard soup. That took my breath away. I cannot begin to imagine such a dish. I need to look that up on Google when the Internet isn’t costing me $.40/minute.

Aside to Son R and family—I really really like the book, From Sea to Shining Sea, by James Alexander Thom that you gave me for Christmas!  Historical fiction about George Rogers Clark and family before, during, and after the Revolutionary War.   

I guess we are cruising on such a beautiful ship so that we can become more familiar with Windows 10.  It is amazing how packed the classes are with at least 30 people, and Georgia, our warm and welcoming teacher, repeats the classes three times per cruise. Today I learned how to bring photos to life with the editing features in Win 10.

Sunday was Gala night, so we dressed for the special occasion. At dinner TK observed that the iced tea is made at the server station with a premade syrup. I’m sticking to diet soda. Choices are Diet Coke (fountain) and Coke Zero

TK's iced tea on the left in the small glass :) 

The shrimp cocktail was very good. An extra accompaniment as an appetizer was chilled corn chowder served in a small juice glass.  The carrot soup was delicious too and the pasta shells stuffed with creamy ricotta cheese was super. The lemon meringue cheesecake was OK, hard to surpass the Cheesecake Factory.

Nowadays TK packs a jacket and wears it with no tie. This is very acceptable for Gala night. This is very different from when he rented a tux from home or on board the ship. I no longer take gowns either.  Makes for easier packing and more comfort!

After dinner (we are eating at 5:45 p.m. most days), we went to the Main Stage Show, “Off the Charts,” with 11 singers and dancers, accompanied by 4 musicians. They sang and danced to Pop hits from the late 50s to present. The stage graphics were clever, e.g. piano keys projected onto the stage, from all sides.

On Monday, TK headed straight to the fresh water pool, mid ship while I headed to two Win 10 workshops, “Organize Your Photos with Windows 10” and “Make Windows 10 Your Own.” I have learned so much already, and I need to download Photo Gallery from Microsoft. Of course my laptop needs an update, but again, I am not paying $.40 a minute to do that. We really take for granted the fact that we can use the Internet so lavishly at home. I hope that Internet access is always so.

The rest of the day I read on our balcony—an even warmer gentle breeze. The sound of the ship sailing through the waves. Grand luxury!

I could not resist two soups at dinner tonight, chilled mixed berry and twice baked potato soup.  The roast turkey was good, but that is one dinner I think I do well anyway. TK had pork medallions with spaetzle. We observed the bustle of the dining room, servers carrying 5-6 covered and stacked dinners at a time, conversations buzzing, and the light sound of piano keys, tables with 2, 4, or 6 diners. Three different HAL people stopped by to ask if we were enjoying our dinner. TK and I are dining alone, we learned long ago that talk can turn to politics quite easily and we prefer not to engage in that. 

After dinner we walked to the Main Stage to hear Paul Pappas, pianist. I have never seen a pianist who could sit, stand, and jump around while playing everything from Beethoven to Ragtime to Michael Bubules to TV theme songs.

Finally, I was glad to see that the Pittsburgh Steelers won last night. TK says he does not think they can beat New England.

TK’s Takes: He now thinks there are younger people than he first thought (under 70), maybe even 20%.  

The pool temperature is 80 F, it is fresh water, and not many people are using them. The room stewards seem a little lethargic.